ROANOKE, Va. – All eyes will be on Salt Lake City Wednesday night for the vice presidential debate between current Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris.
10 News political analyst Ed Lynch is predicting what voters and candidates are looking for during the showdown.
“Both sides will be trying to get their bases fired up,” Lynch said. “The two protagonists will be doing two different things.”
Lynch expects the debate to hinge on two issues: COVID-19 and the economy. He believes it will be more subdued than the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but Pence and Harris will not avoid conflict.
“Kamala Harris will try to keep the conversation on Donald Trump," Lynch said. "Mike Pence will try to keep the conversation on Kamala Harris.”
Lynch parallels Pence to then-Vice President George H.W. Bush in the 1984 vice presidential debate. He said Bush’s performance then helped make up ground after President Ronald Reagan’s subpar showing in his first debate.
“It really got the Reagan campaign back on track, and I think Mike Pence has the chance to do that," Lynch said.
Lynch added that Harris will try to redeem herself on the debate stage after her failed presidential campaign.
“Her performance in the Democratic primaries was uneven," Lynch said. "In the debates in the Democratic primaries, she had her moments.”
However, Lynch said the vice presidential debate is especially important because both Pence and Harris could plausibly end up as president within the next four years.
“Both Trump and Biden are well into their 70s with questions about their health,” Lynch said. “It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see one of these two speakers tonight as President of the United States.”